Quincy raising residential property taxes about 2.3 percent

The owner of an average single-family home in Quincy will pay an extra $107 in property taxes next year, roughly the same increase as this year.

By Patrick Ronan

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Patrick Ronan

Posted Dec. 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 3, 2013 at 3:06 AM

By Patrick Ronan

Posted Dec. 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 3, 2013 at 3:06 AM

QUINCY

» Social News

The owner of an average single-family home in Quincy will pay an extra $107 in property taxes next year, roughly the same increase as this year.

The increase, about 2.3 percent, could have been $625 for the average single-family home if the city taxed the limit allowed by state law, Quincy officials said. However, the city won’t collect $20.8 million in allowable taxes next year.

“We could’ve taxed at a higher rate. However, our expenses are under control,” City Council President Michael McFarland said.

“Therefore, we left $20 million on the table. While other communities are going for Proposition 21/2 overrides, Quincy doesn’t have to because we live within our means.”

The city council Monday night approved the residential tax rate recommended by Mayor Thomas Koch, effective on the tax bills mailed in January.

The council passed a rate of $14.86 for every $1,000 in assessed value, meaning the owner of an average single-family home in Quincy – valued at $315,350 – will pay $4,686 in property taxes next year. Homeowners paid $110 more this year compared to 2012.

“We had hoped to keep (the increase) down to the $98 range, but there was a slight reduction in commercial values, hence that reduction gets picked up by the residential value,” Peter Moran, Quincy’s chief assessor, said.

Although the city’s commercial properties decreased in total value by about $24 million from last year, residential properties increased roughly $82 million. It’s the first time residential property values, which account for 82 percent of the city’s total valuations, increased since the Great Recession.

“We’re headed in the right direction. We really are,” Moran said.

The council Monday also approved a tax rate of $31.23 for every $1,000 in assessed commercial, industrial and personal property value. Commercial properties make up 15 percent of the city’s total valuation, while personal properties make up more than 2 percent and industrial less than 1 percent.

Commercial, industrial and personal properties are taxed at a higher rate in Quincy to lighten the burden on homeowners.

For fiscal 2014, which started this past July, Quincy has $6.3 million in extra revenue, or free cash, certified by the state Department of Revenue. Of the free cash, $1 million has been put into the city’s rainy day fund and $1.2 million has erased last year’s snow-and-ice deficit.